Various surgical procedures require the temporary or permanent coupling of tissue to hard tissue such as bone. For example, when a tendon or ligament becomes detached from the bone which normally supports it, reattachment of the soft tissue to the bone with a supporting device helps to position the soft tissue for regrowth and recovery. Under other circumstances it is desirable to have a secure means of attaching a length of suture material between one or more bony regions. With this in mind, a variety of approaches have been developed for securing suture to hard tissue such as bone. Classed generally as bone anchors, these approaches have met with varying success.
Certain devices among those in this class have provided limited coupling strength with respect to a surrounding bone substrate matrix. Other devices have provided limited coupling strength and durability with respect to a suture material. Others have provided inadequate positional adjustability of the suture material. These and other deficiencies persist despite long and well-funded efforts by many investigators to secure improved methods and devices.